This makes me happy

As of yesterday, if given a free flight home ASAP, I wouldn’t take it.  Previously when I’ve asked myself this question the answer hasn’t been quite this simple. 

Now, let me backtrack.  I like Ireland.  I really like Cork.  I’ve been here eleven weeks now, and I’ve liked this place the whole time.  My Fall—sorry, Autumn!—so far has been full of beautiful sights, brilliant music, and engaging people.  God’s blessings have been everywhere:  I both got plugged into a great church and learned how to make German pancakes pretty early.

But always, always, when I asked myself, “given the opportunity, would you go home today?” the answer was yes.  I’d been happy here, but at home were TNW, RUF large group, and FND (hehe acronyms).  At home were crazy dance parties, chocolate-covered pretzels, and Chick-fil-A.  At home were Sundays singing “Glory to Glory,” and the Appalachian mountains, and at home my brother is growing approximately an inch a day, which is terrifying!

As of yesterday, though, this has changed.  No, I’m sure George is still growing.  And I will be oh so very happy to return to all of those other things in December and January.  What’s changed is that Ireland has begun to pull my heart, a little bit, in the other direction.  As God has been showing me all semester, He’s over here too.  He’s in His creation, and in His people in this beautiful city.  And here in Cork are the English Market, Tuesday nights with the CU and worship at Calvary Cork.  In Cork are both Eddie Rockets AND the recently-discovered Hotshakes (NOT an oxymoron).  In Cork are crosswalks that say you have 99 seconds but are actually trying to kill you, a flat full of roommates who eat nutella out of the jar, and TOTALLY AWESOME friends who will sing crazy Disney songs with you (sounds like home…).

So thank God for Cork!  And here’s to my last third (haha) of my time here!  At least for now.

PS. By the way, nothing extra special happened yesterday to tip the scales or anything…that was just when I started counting my blessings.

PPS. Two posts in two days?  What?  Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.

Self-Control.

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24.

It’s easy to forget self-control, hidden at the end of the list, a plain, awkward-sounding word compared to the more dramatic sounding joy or the pretty kindness (both also important, by the way).  And as a Christian, it’s easy to forget about self-control in my life.  I’m used to being busy.  At Davidson, necessity forces me to control myself to an extreme—I must do everything at precisely the right time just in order to finish things.  (This mentality, of course, comes with its own problems.)

Cork is worlds away from Davidson, and in more than just miles!  Everyone has time here.  There’s no constant running to be places.  (Everybody’s just late all the time.  That’s okay.)  For example, I met with the CU (Christian Union) last night for about 4 hours.  That included dinner, games, Bible study, and tea and biscuits after.  I love RUF, but that would never happen at home.  Obviously, I appreciate the slower pace of life here.

However, I’m also learning from it.  The last two weeks in particular have taught me my lack of self-control.  I have lots of free time.  I have lots of papers due in November.  But there are lots of movies to watch.  Often I’ll go to bed feeling just useless.  Now, I know I’m not made for usefulness.  I have this Oswald Chambers quotation on my desk: “If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived.”  I’m not meant to be the most useful person out there.  I’m meant to worship God, and honor Him in everything I am, do, and say.  And honestly, sometimes I live like a vegetable.  I’m here to be in school, among other things, and I can honor God in my work as I can in my rest.

All that to say this:  I’d appreciate prayer for motivation—the right motivation—to work hard here, and spend my time well.  Jesus gave His life for me!  And I want to live for Him, in spite of myself.

Weathering Ireland

Apparently I came to Ireland with a few misconceptions about the weather.  I (and almost every person I consulted before my trip) predicted, and expected, four months of grey skies and chilly rain.

Now, I feel that I can honestly state that I have seen the sun every day that I have been in Ireland.  Every day. And it's beautiful!  At first I thought it was just the summer weather, but it's October now.

And when it does rain, it doesn't really rain.  I'm from North Carolina; I know rain.  At home, it comes down pretty hard, at least once a week.  Here it justs mists, or sometimes spits (as in, it's spitting out).  No satisfying rain yet.

But, lest I be drawing a picture of Ireland as the next Bermuda, let me remind you of a saying we have in NC:  "Don't like the weather?  Don't worry, it'll change in a few minutes!"  While this makes sense in my home state, it is literally true here.  This morning, I woke up to clouds.  It was sunny on my way to class, rained during class, but was clear and sparkling at the end of the hour.  It then drizzled most of the afternoon, before the sun came out about 5.30, only to disappear again by 6.30.  It's clear now, but will probably rain later tonight.

As the daughter and sister of boy scouts, you would think I'd know this by now, but always, always, carry a rainjacket.